Page 72 of The Cowboy's Country Charm

Lexi thanked her for the compliment, and Rusty looked pleased as well.

“There is one problem,” Laurie said. “I just learned that the radio personality who was going to do me a personal favor by narrating the video to be shown at the fundraiser has come down with laryngitis. I guess it’s a professional hazard. We need someone else, and I haven’t a clue who to get now.”

Kristy was about to say that she would explore some talent agencies, when Rusty raised his hand. Like a schoolboy. For some reason, that warmed Kristy’s heart. “Rusty, are you volunteering?” His deep bass voice would certainly work, but narration was also a skill.

“Not likely,” he boomed. “But since Greta Hutchins is going to be part of our bail-out-of-jail event, what about asking her? She’s done commercial work.”

Rusty to the rescue. “We can certainly ask.”

“I love it. I’m sure she can do it, but will she volunteer it? We only have limited funds,” Laurie said.

“I’ll ask her,” Lexi responded. “Or rather, I’ll have my mother-in-law ask her. That way we can also see if her contract would allow it.”

Kristy sat down with a sigh. “See. Rusty already is being helpful,” she whispered to Ariel.

“We’ll see.”

***

Just as Rusty, along with Cort and Lexi, was about to down some of his mother’s beef stew after a day doing ranch work, his cell rang.

He was startled to see the ID of his former commander. No one ignored the commander, so he walked into the living area and answered the call, not sure what to expect. And the conversation was unexpected.

“Who was that, son?” his mother asked after he returned, as she put down her spoon, having cleared her plate while he’d been on the phone. “You seemed surprised.”

Rusty sat back in his seat at the table. “I don’t get a call from my former commander every day.” In fact, he hadn’t gotten one since he’d left the service.

“Your former commander? From the air force? What did he want?”

Lexi leaned in. “I hope they are not trying to recruit you again.”

“Something like that. He’s wants me to come work at the air force training center in Cheyenne as a civilian instructor and train new recruits in pararescue.”

“Cheyenne?” His mom clasped her hands together. “That’s so far.”

Said the woman who had moved to New Mexico.

“It’s the same state at least.”

His mom shook her head. “I just mean that you’d have to move. And you don’t know anyone in Cheyenne.”

“I didn’t know anyone in any of the places I was deployed. That’s not a consideration.” At all. But leaving Kristy would be a consideration. Just when things were getting started.

“What did you tell him?” Lexi asked.

“That I’d think about it.” No one told his ex-commander no without having put some thought behind it. While Rusty was no longer in the military, the respect for authority that had been instilled in him during years of service was still there.

“Why didn’t you tell him you were going to enter the police force here?” his mother asked.

“Because I still haven’t heard from them.”

“But surely you will, and you’ll get in. And you don’t want to go to Cheyenne, do you?” His mother was rubbing her hands together, as if she were putting on lotion or something.

He didn’t want to leave Kristy. The relationship was new. Things were going well. He had hope for the first time in his life. She hadn’t shied away from him after witnessing one of his nightmares. She actually seemed to care about him.

She hadn’t rescinded her “keep it casual” stance, but he hadn’t told her he was interested in more yet either. He needed time to see how things played out before he dove head first into the sea of romance. “No.”

“Good. It will be better being here with the rest of your siblings. I mean, we’d never see you then.”

---